Most of them focus on a particular style. As a wild overgeneralisation, I look to USA-Canada companies for classic tailoring, comfortable casuals, historic/ vintage reproductions, or art-to-wear, and for specific sports. And to European pattern companies and pattern magazines for more chic or fashion-forward styles. But I can immediately think of companies which don’t fit that, and your preferences are probably different from mine !

I’ve included :
– some links to lists of USA-Canada independent pattern companies. There are so many of these companies, I gladly leave it to others to keep track of them all!
– USA on-line retailers. Again there are many of these, so I’ve tried to limit them to ones which carry pattern lines not in the big lists.
– European on-line retailers of USA-Canada patterns. So we can save ourselves postage and customs. Happily there are more of these than I thought.
– European independent pattern companies. I’ve listed all the ones I can find, as they’re less well known and I’d like to support them.
– a little about European pattern magazines and on-line sources for them.

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Lists of links

Many of the companies sell their own patterns on-line. Sadly there’s no one complete list of links. Here are some good starting points for USA-Canada patterns :

Each retailer has their own selection of companies, and sometimes not the complete issues of a given pattern line. Many of them sell patterns which aren’t in the above lists. These are some places to start from :

There are many UK sources for Amy Butler bag patterns. These are among the ones who sell her clothes patterns as well as her bags :Gone to EarthNerybeth Crafts. See Amy Butler under Categories on left.

Couture Atelier (Switzerland, site in German)
List of pattern companies is under Schnittmuster nach Hersteller. I can’t get Google translate to work with this site reliably.
Patterns : Amy Butler, Favorite Things, Folkwear, Green Pepper, Indygo Junction, Jalie, Jean Hardy, Lingerie Secrets, Marfy, Olympia, Onion, Past Patterns, Pattern Company, Revisions, Schnittquelle, Sewing Workshop, Shapes, Suitability.
(Switzerland is not in the EU, so you may have to pay customs.)

Fjoelner (Denmark)
(click top right if necessary to get English version of site)
Patterns : Multisnit, Onion.

Marfy (Italy)
Marfy patterns are available in the US from Vogue patterns, where you can see the full range of patterns. They’re also available through the Fashion Sewing Group.
Chic elegance. Pattern only, no instructions. Individual sizes.

Multisnit (Denmark)
The Google translation of this site says <<Click on pattern cover to see rock counseling and drug consumption << 😀
Instead look at the Fjoelner site for descriptions in English.
Wardrobe and other multi-style patterns for modern casuals.

Pattern Review (members only) 2008 article on international pattern magazines – ‘International Superstars’ by Cidell.
Cidell gives US sources available at the time, but some links are now out-dated. Burda (English) and Modellina (Italian, Spanish, French) subscriptions from OPR in New York City, and Universal News. Burda is on newstands in big towns in the UK. (Burda Easy isn’t published in English.) For KnipMode and Ottobre see Naaipatronen/SewingPatterns or Schnittmuster.net, and for Mrs Stylebook see Simply Pretty. Most of the magazine sources I’ve found are in Europe, and I mentioned them before.

If you were allowed to pick only one pattern for a jacket, one for a dress, one for a blouse/ top, etc., from these pattern collections, irrespective of what anyone else might think or say, which would it be ?
If it wouldn’t flatter your body shape or fit into your lifestyle or your sewing skills :
– what would be similar that would be possible ?
– are there some details that you could use ?
– what is it about the style that you especially like ?
Keep your choice a secret if you want to 😀

I’m picking from the early season patterns issued June-July. There has already been an August issue from Butterick, and more patterns are due from McCall’s on Monday !

It’s patterns for fashion parkas that are missing at the moment. Probably there are some in preparation. Burda is usually good for them. I have old favourites from Burda magazines (January 2008 and 2009). But even Burda haven’t got parkas currently in their main catalogue.

What to do if top fashion magazine editors don’t narrow down the season’s styles to clothes you want to wear. And they don’t agree on the trends for winter 2010. From looking at designer shows, it’s obvious there’s a huge variety of styles. So how do we find the best choices for ourselves ?

It’s definitely worth knowing the clothes you feel happiest and most comfortable in. What makes you feel you’re living your clothes life to the full. And what is best for your own lifestyle. These are not always quick and easy discoveries. I find it an ongoing process. I learned a lot from the wardrobe planning thread at Stitchers Guild. Many of my posts are about this, see personal style.

And it is worth trying on some styles which you don’t think are ‘you’. There may be some surprises.

Or at least know what isn’t your style.

I realised knowing my style can be dramatically helpful when I first learned my colours. I now often walk in the door of a shop, glance along the racks at the colours, and walk straight out again. Saves a huge amount of time.

Why do you want to be fashionable ? (if you’re not a high fashion sort of person) To avoid being sneered at by the rich or their shop assistants ? – happily I haven’t got that lifestyle. To look current – yes – but there are easier ways of doing that than following the dictates of Vogue. Actually I think someone dressed like a Vogue editorial would look more out of place round here than someone in derelict jeans and sweats. I’m looking forward to seeing what the more stylish locals do choose to wear in the coming winter.

I did a quick calculation from the ‘In Style’ circulation figures, and realised I might be the only person in about 3 streets who looks at it. That means there are not many people I meet who despise me because I’m not wearing a camelhair cape 😀

Sadly disapproval, ridicule, rejection are powerful social forces. Big survival value for keeping a cohesive social group for mutual support. But also very painful. I’m very sensitive to it all.

Everyone from religious fundamentalists through rich kids to Goth and hip-hop may think you have the wrong morals or the wrong personality if you wear the wrong clothes. Clothes can be a great source of pleasures. But fashion can bring out the worst in people. It helps to find people who like the same clothes as you do, or tolerate your choices.

Wearing what you love is surprisingly good armour against being disapproved of or ignored. It’s like most areas of life. If you can laugh kindly about your weaknesses, then criticism doesn’t have so much power.

Knowing your own style also gives you security when fashion experts give conflicting advice. This season one fashion writer says you must wear prints, as white shirts are dated. Oh dear, my closet is full of white shirts. . . Ah well, not to worry, nearly every outfit in the Céline show includes one.

If you’re tempted to take fashion too seriously, watch the film about Vogue magazine, ‘The September Issue’. Do you want to be told what to wear by these people ? Look at what the assistants are wearing and their body language. In films about designers Lagerfeld and Mizrahi, the assistants may be equally drably dressed but they are devoted. Or read ‘Fashion Babylon’ by Imogen Edwards-Jones or ‘Bringing home the Birkin : my life in hot pursuit of the world’s most coveted handbag’ by Michael Tonello.

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Then what are the easiest ways you can cut down on all the current alternatives, so you only look at possibilities which are good for your style ?

Try different magazines – find which ones you feel most comfortable with.

Pick a designer with the same style as you. Copy these outfits without worrying about anything else.

And there’s no need to be concerned if the big name designers are too extreme for you. There’s a great deal going on in fashion which doesn’t appear in a RTW show. Most people round here wear knit tops, but there are few of them in the famous RTW collections. Find a store, local or online, which you like. In my town there’s only one big department store. Happily, there’s a store-in-store by a designer I like. The clothes wouldn’t fit and aren’t in the right colours, but they’re a good source of ideas and inspiration. That designer doesn’t have a RTW show. Nor do many popular and stylish high street chains.

Which mail-order catalogues make you shudder, and which make you want to spend millions ?

Find a style blog that you like. Lots of places to try with links to other blogs. For blogs focussed on style, start from somewhere such as YouLookFab’s suggestions. If you prefer a sewing starting point, try Debbie Cook’s list. Once you start explorng you’ll find some you enjoy and feel at home with and remember to go back to.

Which styles make you instantly relax and feel at home ?
Every time you find something you dislike, think of what you would prefer.

The only problem with all this is you have to do the trudging around (real or virtual) for yourself, to find current styles which are right for you. It helps to be secure about what you like, so you’re not distracted by all the possibilities that aren’t. So the initial stages of this process can take time.

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Then the ‘only’ ’small’ problem is finding the patterns which mimic those designs. It’s easiest if you can analyse a style : its overall silhouette, main seam lines, and style elements such as length, collar/ neckline, sleeves. But you haven’t got to do that. Save pictures of clothes that you like from the internet. Print them out and keep them to hand while you’re looking through the pattern collections.

Chromatophore has some posts on patterns for various winter 2010 looks.

Easiest of all if you can, find a pattern designer who has patterns you like. If the big pattern catalogues don’t make you feel at home, try independent pattern designers. I don’t think there’s any complete list of independent pattern companies, but here is a starting point. I’m planning a post with more resources for this.

For the least effort, you only need the look of this decade, not this season. Anything in the recent patterns, Big 4 or Burda, is going to be in current style, even if not high fashion. It’s going to have current proportions and silhouette.

I’ve been enjoying looking at Kate Mathews’ books, which are full of ideas. But their styling is dramatically out of date, all those huge shoulder pads and very loose fit. The current look is usually more fitted. Current shoulders are usually fitted or raglan rather than dropped. Knits are used now for fashion clothes, not just for sports. So there are new styles that rarely appear in pattern making books of the 80s – twist front tops, wrap tops, cascade jackets, leggings. And so on. All this is naturally taken into account without you having to think about or even be aware of it, if you wear recent styles from the pattern books.

Okay, I find many of the recent patterns dull, and some of them too extreme. The pattern companies try to provide for all styles, and many people like the patterns I dislike. My dislikes are clues to my own style. But I don’t think you’ll find any recent pattern with the huge american-football-player shoulders that were fashionable in the 80s 😀

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There’s a great deal more in the designer collections and the stylish stores than the 6 In Style suggestions for the coming winter, or the 10 Vogue items for next summer. So if we don’t like those ideas, that doesn’t mean we have to muddle along with no hope of being current or stylish. But we do have to do our own legwork.

If this lack of fashion clarity makes you uncomfortable, here’s a discussion started by Male Pattern Boldness.

I get a great deal of pleasure and fun out of looking at what’s happening in fashion. But magazines are best taken for inspiration and entertainment, not for strict rules dictation !

My next post is my own pick of the new season’s patterns – very different from what the In Style list says I should be wearing. Nothing like the photos from the collections in my Trends post either 😀